We're used to hearing about the web browser market share being disputed by the bigger players, such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. However, in terms of mobile browsing, it seems that one major participant has been left out of most data gathered by firms such as NetMarketShare.

According to new data from analytics company Mixpanel obtained by TechCrunch, Facebook has grown to become the source of a significant portion of mobile web browsing, at least in the United States. The social network accounts for over 10% of mobile browsing events in many states, peaking at 13.74% in Washington, which is followed by Rhode Island at 13.14% and Montana with 12.64%.

In at least 16 states, Facebook's market share is either over or very close to the 10% mark, which, while far from a leadership position, is nothing to scoff at. This means that across all of the U.S., the social media giant accounts for 8.82% of all mobile browsing. With Facebook being one of the most popular social networks around the world, it's likely that a similar scenario is playing out in other regions as well.

The numbers indicate that many users are using Facebook as their primary source for all sorts of online content, which might help explain the company's ever-growing attempts to crack down on fake news.

Most of the mobile browsing activity in the United States is still done through Safari, which sits comfortably in first place with 58.06% of the market, while Chrome trails Apple's browser with 32.48% percent. This leaves a tiny 0.64% slice for the rest of mobile browsers.

Safari's leadership is closely tied to the dominance of iOS in the country, which has over 50% of the market share in every single state, for a total of 65.5% of mobile devices across the territory. Meanwhile, Android holds 34.46% of the market. This is somewhat different from what's happening in the rest of the world, as Apple now sits in third place in global smartphone market share after being surpassed by Huawei.